Sea and Shore
by NoodelandPJ's
Summary: She's from one world, he is from another. Their paths cross and a curious Temperance Brennan is pulled into Seeley Booths world and is dazzled by it. Until their luck takes a turn for the worse. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello and welcome to our first fic :) It's the first we wrote together but we're not unfamiliar with FanFiction. Enjoy the AU ride, and leave us your thoughts!**

Her eyes fluttered open as she felt the gentle waves hit her face. It took her a few moments to focus and realise where she was.  
Blinking, she looked at her surroundings in awe before lowering her gaze and smiling triumphantly. Wiggling her toes, she smiled. It had worked.

Booth was out for a morning walk on the beach. He enjoyed the tangy smell of the ocean and the soft breeze which caressed his body tenderly, waking him up fully.  
The sun hadn't been up for very long, but yet, the day seemed promising already. When he heard soft sound from behind one of the dunes, he stopped and called out, "Somebody there?"

Slowly she crawled upright, stopping when she noticed her state of undress. Normally she didn t mind at all but she had no idea how humans would react to it.  
Covering herself as modestly as she could in her long hair she walked towards the noise on her wobbly legs.

Booths breath was caught in his throat as he saw a young, naked woman emerging from behind the dune.  
Realizing exactly how wrong it was to stare, he quickly shrugged off his coat and handed it to her. He turned around respectfully and waited for a few moments.  
"Are you all right, miss?" he called out over his shoulder.

Wrapping herself in the warm coat she was handed, Temperance turned back around, wanting to reply but knowing she couldn't.  
Worried that something might indeed be wrong, he spoke up again. "I'm going to turn around again, okay?"  
When she once again didn't respond, he turned around and walked over to her. "My name is Seeley. What's yours?"

Opening her mouth she closed it abruptly, bummed about her voice.  
Looking around she spotted a branch and after having retrieved it, she crouched down, writing her name in the sand for him to see.

When she crouched down and wrote her name in the sand, he crouched next to her. "Are you all right, Temperance?"  
Standing upright, she nodded, smiling thankfully.

"I, uhm, I'll take it you can't speak?" he asked her quietly, indicating her name in the sand.  
A little crestfallen, Brennan shook her head. Her voice had been the price to pay and although it seemed a small price at the time she now understood its value.  
"I'm sorry," he apologized for clearly having upset her. Suddenly the realization hit that they were still outside and that she wasn't wearing anything except his coat.

"Come on," he urged her. "You have to get inside, you'll get sick if you don't."

Following him until they reached his house, she halted, taking in the large building.  
He frowned when she stopped, but didn't continue moving.  
"If you'd rather not stay here, I can just tell one of my staff to get you some clothes. I don't want to force you or anything. You're welcome to stay though. As you can see, my house is big enough."

She knew she had no place to stay and was thankful he had offered her one. Shaking her head she followed him inside.

He showed her around the house, before they walked up the stairs together. "My chambers are to your left," he walked to his right and opened the second door.  
"This will be your room, for as long as you'd wish to stay here."  
Nodding to show she understood, she walked into the room looking around and taking in her surroundings before being pulled back to reality by her grumbling stomach.

Sheepishly she smiled at him.  
"I'll let you get dressed. I'll be downstairs in the kitchen, so we can have breakfast," he winked at her and left.  
Looking around for the clothes she noticed another door in her chamber and when she walked in she realised is was a bathroom.  
She spotted her clothing folded neatly on a chair and a small tub on a dresser filled with water.  
Quickly refreshing herself and getting rid of the salty smell of her skin, she slipped into the clothes and walked out of her room, in search for the kitchen.

He smiled at her when she walked into the kitchen. She looked refreshed.  
"I, I hope you like eggs. I just boiled them, since I'm normally not in charge of breakfast. I hope it s okay for you?"  
Since she had no idea what he was talking about she just nodded, smiling at him.  
Carefully Temperance took place behind the table, eyeing all the food on the table, reaching for a slice of bread, mirroring him.

They ate breakfast and he noticed that she seemed somewhat out of it. She stared at her boiled egg as if she had no idea what to do with it.  
"Here," he told her as he reached for her egg, "I'll show you."

Attentively she watched as he took off the peel for her and placed it in an eggcup, handing it to her along with the saltshaker.  
Accepting both items she shook a generously amount of salt over it, making a face when she took her first bite and immediately realising her mistake.

Booth winced sympathetically and switched her egg for his, lightly sprinkling it with salt. "Here, try again."  
Cautiously she tried again and this time it did taste better. Taking another bite, her mind registered what she tasted, surprised at the new taste.  
"Like it?" he asked her as he wiped most of the salt off of her egg, before he finished it. "Do you want coffee or orange juice?" he asked her as he poured himself a cup of coffee.  
Recognizing what he was asking but not the things he was referring to she simply pointed to the coffeepot when he seemed finished.  
The steaming black liquid was poured into her cup and carefully she took a sip, finding that though it was still too hot it tasted rather pleasant.

"Careful! It's still warm!" he cautioned her as she took a sip. When she seemed okay, he sat back and enjoyed the rest of his breakfast.  
Studying the rest of the contents on the table in search for something a little more familiar, her eyes landed on the shiny cutlery. She d seen that before she recalled.  
Slowly she picked it up and studied it, noticing after a few second he was looking at her and carefully she lowered it to stab something on her fork.  
He was fascinated by her. It seemed as if she was seeing everything for the first time.

Resting down onto the soft mattress of her bed, she flipped through the pages of the book she d found in the small library of the house.  
She studied the pictures thoroughly, curiously taking in the information she learned about the humans. Booth left his own room with a smile.

They'd had a fun day at the beach. He liked her. She was obviously a kind, gentle woman. She'd seemed much more open and relaxed at the beach as well.  
Booth raised his hand and knocked on the door. He'd dressed up to have dinner, not wanting this day to end.

Placing the book back on her bedside table, she went and opened the door, smiling as she saw him standing before her.  
"Hi," he returned her smile, "Dinner's ready. Would you like to join me?" he asked her as he held out his arm.  
Taking a hold of the arm he offered her, she followed him into the dining room.

They sat down together. Booth poured both of them a glass of wine and he held his glass up, so they could clink.  
Watching how he held his glass awfully far away from his mouth, she stared at him, taking a few gulps of her wine like she had seen him do earlier with what she'd learned was orange juice.

Her eyes widened as she put her glass down afterwards, laughing as whatever was in the juice went straight to her head, making her dizzy for a moment.

Booth chuckled as he put his glass back down, "You okay? This must be the first time you've had wine. Small sips," he advised her with a smile as Dean, a member of his staff brought them their first course, a fresh salad. Digging in, they ate in silence, finishing her plate not much after him.  
"Did you like it?" he asked her as their plates were cleared.

Looking at him she nodded in confirmation. Although she had never had much of the stuff he was eating before, she had to admit it almost always tasted good.  
"Glad to hear it. I think you'll enjoy the main course, if the way you love the ocean is any indication. We're having grilled fish. It's been grilled as a whole though, so you have to be careful you don't choke on any small bones," he told her as their plates were put down on the table.

As soon as her plate was put in front of her she stumbled backwards, out of her chair. Looking revolted at the animal on her plate. Dead. They ate that here?  
She wondered as she glanced at him for a moment, tears filling her eyes before she lowered her gaze and walked back up to her room.  
Whoaw, that was certainly not the reaction he'd been going for when he'd asked the cook to prepare fish for dinner. He got up and ran after her.  
"Temperance, wait!"

Ignoring him, she strode back up the stairs, slamming the door of her room once she was inside. Unbelievable, the others had been right all along. They were barbarians.

"Temperance," he knocked on the door, "please open the door. Let me explain! If I would've known you're a vegetarian, I wouldn't have asked the cook to make this!"  
Slowly she got up from her bed, opening the door slightly, staring at him.

"Can I please come in?" he asked quietly.  
Moving to the left she opened the door for him, closing it behind her once he d entered her room.  
"Look, I'm really sorry," he apologized as he looked at her.  
"You just seemed to have so much fun at the beach today, that I just figured you might like this. Obviously you don't however, so I'll ask the cook to make something else."

She smiled slightly at him in thanks.  
He walked over to her and gently rubbed her back, wanting to offer some comfort. "Or we could just have different desserts until we're full," he smiled at her.  
"I'll bet you like those."

Seeing how he smiled at what he had just suggested, she nodded. Surely it couldn t be as bad as the fish.

"Okay, will you come downstairs with me?" His eyes lit up, "Actually, I have a better idea. I'll ask Dean to bring us the desserts outside, on the patio."  
Booth turned around and grabbed a blanket. "Just in case. It might be chilly outside."

Following him outside, they sat down outside on the bench and only minutes later a colourful display of deserts and fruit was put in front of them.  
Taking a strawberry she bit down on it, marvelling at the sweet taste. Taking another, she also offered him one.  
"Thanks," he said, before he bit into the soft, juicy fruit.

After what seemed like hours, she finally pushed her plate away from her. Full from everything they had served her and the new things she'd tasted.  
"I take it you liked this a lot better?" he smiled at her, feeling full himself.  
Nodding, she shot him a grateful smile. With a sigh she leaned back. She could get used to this.

**A/N: Leave a review! It helps our muses and in return gets you more updates :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Although I know not many people read these Author Notes, it would make me (Pj's) very happy if you guys took a look at our profile page where I'll post my art-tumblr, where I post pictures of the drawings I made for these fic. One for each fic, to give you a thought of how B&B look in our heads while we wrote this ;)**

A few days later she woke relatively early. Washing and dressing herself, she slipped outside and wandered around in the house. Exploring it until her stomach grumbled.  
Slowly she made her way towards the dining room where breakfast was being served.

Booth joined her for breakfast and a happy smile formed immediately at the sight of her, bright and early in the morning.  
"Good morning, Temperance," he greeted her. Chastely, he kissed her cheek as he passed on his way to his chair at the head of the table and sat down.  
His time which had been spent with her had thought him to keep a pen and paper around and so he reached for the pen on the breakfast table.  
"How are you this morning?" he wrote down, smiled and handed her the pen.

Smiling brightly she took the pen and paper he offered and after a few seconds of thinking she managed to write down the word 'good' as she recalled how to write it.

He smiled and reached for a slice of bread. After the fish fiasco, he'd told the chef to prepare a vegetarian meal and his wishes had been met.  
There wasn't one trace of meat on the table.  
"What do you want to do today?" he asked her.

Thinking about his question as she reached for her own breakfast she realised she didn't really know anything to do.  
The past days he'd always shown her new things to do but she had no idea what to do when he asked her. Biting down on her lip she turned back to look at him.

"Would you like to go to the city?" The last few days, he'd been taking her out into nature, maybe she'd appreciate the change of scenery.  
The city. She'd often caught a few glimpses of it from sea and from what she could see it looked absolutely wonderful. Yes she wanted to see that place up close.  
Nodding she smiled at him, grateful he'd suggested it.

"Okay. We'll go shopping, you'll need clothes of your own anyway."

Wow. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was colourful and amazing, more than she'd ever dared to dream it would be.  
The best part was that she was walking right in the middle of it. Like any other person.  
Booth smiled at her bewilderment. It was almost as if she hadn't been to the city in her entire life.  
They strolled through the city occasionally stopping to look inside of the shops and see what they were selling.

Pulling him inside a small shop, she surveyed its contents. Her eyes fell on a colourful box decorated with shells and next to it a hand carved flute.  
Picking it up she studied it. Oh how she'd enjoyed music but she also knew the consequences of letting it overpower her.  
She couldn't let that happen. For her own safety and everyone else's.

Booth smiled as she picked up the flute. "Do you play?"

Hesitating slightly she eventually nodded. Maybe he wouldn't even ask her to play.  
Booth smiled. "Great! Do you like that one? Or would you prefer another?"

Silently Brennan put the flute back from where she'd gotten it. She didn't need it. Using it would only turn against her eventually anyway.

He could see her sadden and picked it back up, "Come on, I don't mind. You looked so happy when you first saw it. Really, I don't care about the money."

With a lingering look she picked it up after a few moments, shooting him what she hoped passed for a grateful smile as he paid for her instrument.

Booth paid and together they left the shop, continuing on in the busy street.  
He wrapped an arm around her and held her close as they strolled the streets, happy that he had been able to do something nice for her.

After they had spent almost an entire afternoon looking around and shopping they decided to go back home, taking the route through the dunes.  
Booth smiled when he heard the music. He stopped and turned to her. "Listen. Do you hear that?"  
Her eyes widened and she smiled as he looked at her. Music.  
It sounded heavenly and she had the advantage of being able to just listen to it instead of humming or singing along with the melodies.

"Do you know what that means?" he asked her excitedly. "The circus is back! Come on, you've got to see this," he pulled her along.

Circus? What on earth was he talking about? Figuring she'd find out soon enough she let him lead her back towards shore.  
Together they walked back the way they'd came from and walked in between the brightly lit and colorful stands.

Looking around at all the attractions she came across, Brennan had to admit it looked wonderful and that she was enjoying herself.

Booth wrapped his arms around her and together, they started walking around the circus. "Oh look! A freak show, let's go look."  
Booth grabbed his wallet and paid for two tickets, then they entered together. Looking around, she observed where he'd brought her.  
A large space with several people around her and with a frown she realized they weren't like the others.

With a small smile she thought she could relate to them and walked further spotting several animals.  
Noticing a dog with an extra paw she crouched down besides it, reaching out to pet it, frightened when it started to bark and growl loudly at her.  
Stumbling upright she ran out of the room, uncertain what to do but when the animal pulled lose its chain and chased her she chose to follow her instinct.  
Back to the water, the safety of the sea.

"Temperance!" Booth called out as she fled out of the tent and started running towards - yes, towards the ocean!  
Booth quickly chased the dog, which was chasing her. The owner followed him and as soon as Booth had managed to stand on its leach, he handed it to the owner.  
He looked up and was horrified to see that she was still running, braving the waves. "No! Come back!"  
Booth ran after her and as she went under, he dove into the water as well.  
The waves were disorienting and the salt water made it hard to see anything. "Temperance!"

Feeling a painful sensation spread through her body she knew what had just happened. The spell had reversed and she'd taken back her true form.  
Her tail was back she noticed which also meant that she couldn't breathe on land for very long.  
Diving under she took a breath though the gills on her neck that had re-appeared and made her way back to the deep bottom of the sea again.  
However, when she heard her name, followed by a loud plunge she looked up to see him following her, fighting the salt water. Alerted she swam up.  
They couldn't breathe underwater! What on earth was he doing? Seeing his body sag as he slipped into unconsciousness she swam faster to him taking a hold of him.  
Taking a deep breath she hoped it would work as she pressed her lips to his filling his lungs with fresh air.  
With a gasp they reached the shore again and she quickly laid him down, scanning the area and wondering whether she should just go back to where she came from or stay with him a little longer, to see if he was okay.

The owner of the runaway dog had followed them and when he saw an honest to god mermaid emerging from the water, he grinned.  
"Oh, this is just too good to be true," he whispered excitedly and ran towards the pair. He set the dog lose on her again and ran towards them.  
He smiled when he realized that she couldn't get back into the water before the dog reached her.

Terrified as she saw the animal run towards her again, Brennan yelped.  
Apparently her tail wasn't the only thing that had returned because before she could even reach the water properly the dog bit down on her fin and she cried out in pain.

"Please. Get him away from me, please!"

The owner called the dog off of her and told him to sit next to the unconscious man. The dog obeyed immediately.  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he asked with a satisfied smirk. As soon as she saw him smile at her she knew she was in danger.  
But before she could speak up her lower half had dried and the tail disappeared, leaving a gelatin substance and legs in place.  
Scrambling upright she made a run for it, tumbling down due to her foot the dog had injured.

He produced a knife from his pocket and held it against the man's jugular.  
"Stop, or he dies!" he called out. And if that didn't work, he'd simply sent the dog after her again.  
Halting at the threat, she watched how he walked towards her again, creepy smile in place.

He grabbed her and forced her back towards the circus. He whistled and as he did, the dog got up again and followed them back to the circus.  
Once they arrived there, he closed the freak show and forced her into an empty tank. Just a few weeks ago, Rollo, their two headed saltwater turtle had died.  
But it seemed that he'd found the perfect next inhabitant.

A few tears made their way down her cheeks but she knew it was no avail. No-one noticed since they were swallowed by the water. Oh why did she end up in here?

Booth woke up slowly, groggily and it took him a little while to realize that somehow, he'd washed up on the shore. Without Temperance.  
A sense of intense loss washed over him and he closed his eyes again. If he was still on the beach, that meant that nobody had found him.  
And if nobody had found him, nobody had found her. And if she hadn't been found... she had drowned.  
He continued to lay on his back for a few more minutes, but eventually, he forced himself to get up and go home.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So sorry for the absence! My friend had my pc, with this story on it and I only got it back today. But that means more frequent updates from now on! Also, it's still AU so if you don't like it, don't read it!**

After a few days of enduring the same destiny over and over she couldn't even care anymore.  
She felt numb. How could humans do this, to her?

For what seemed like a thousandth time she listened to the owners voice.

"Come see the horrid freaks of the night, the monsters among us! The deadly creatures of the sea…"

She wanted to scream. It wasn't true, she wasn't deadly and she wasn't like the others. Why couldn't they see she didn't live to kill humans but only tried to save the few she could?

As she was startled by a child knocking on the tank, the fins on the side of her lionfish-like tail shot up, displaying the sharp spikes in them and quivering as a defense mechanism.

Immediately she received a foul look from the child's mother who pulled him along, mumbling.

"Come on honey, don't want you to get hurt by one of those monsters in here."

Booth had been miserable and grieving for the last few days. Losing Temperance had been much harder on him than he'd ever be able to expect.

The real shock had been just an hour ago though, when Lucas, his chef cook had told him he'd thought he'd seen Temperance at the circus.  
In the freak show no less!

At first, he'd refused to go and check it out, but he couldn't though. He needed the truth. He needed to know if she was still alive or not.  
So that's how he found himself standing in line to buy yet another ticket for the freak show.

His heart was beating faster and he felt the adrenalin rushing through his body. As soon as he had his ticket in his hand, he entered the tent and followed the crowd.  
Even though he was standing in the back, he could see her. Her body had changed.

Her legs were simply gone, and a tail had taken its place. Scales covered her bare breasts and her hair had grown longer, twirling around her face in the water.

Gills covered her neck, clearly enabling her to survive in the water. His eyes had traveled up her body and when they connected with hers, he looked away, turned around and left.

The utter defeat broke her heart. He was disgusted by her, just like anybody else. Not caring anymore, she let her tears flow freely.  
This was it, her ending, and she'd have to go through it alone. Abandoned by the person she had thought would understand.

Booth simply could take it no longer. The sight of her, locked up in a cage, displayed for everyone to see...  
The moment he turned around, he promised himself he would get her out of there, as soon as he'd figured out a way.

Ever since he'd left she could feel herself get weaker. He'd managed to find the one thing that killed her kind and that was a broken heart.

It also didn't help that her tank appeared to be leaking, the level of the water had drained until just a slight part of her neck was still underwater and she struggled to breathe.  
She knew she'd die either way.

By the time it was dark, Booth had gone back home, changed into black clothes, grabbed a long, black dress which would cover her up completely and had made his way back to the freak show at the circus.

He had a raw, red steak in a small plastic bag and as soon as he encountered the dog, he tossed it toward him, silencing the animal.

He would've wanted to leave sooner, but he'd been unable to find everything fast enough to leave before dark.  
He quickly made his way to the back of the tent, where he was met with a heart wrenching sight.

The sweet and gentle creature he'd come to know as Temperance over the last few days, was unconscious on the bottom of the tank.

The water had drained almost completely and he could see she was in danger. She looked deathly pale and her breathing was too slow.

He struggled for a moment, trying to figure out how to open the tank and after a few minutes, he'd succeeded in opening it.  
Quickly, he helped her to sit up and pulled her body against his.

"Temperance?" he whispered urgently. "It's me, Booth. Can you open your eyes honey?"

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and met his before she slumped back against him. She was drying up again, she needed water. So quietly she mouthed it to him.

Her voice was soft and weak, but he heard her beautiful voice clearly as she asked for water.  
He was about to pick her up into his arms, but was stopped when the lights were turned on and the voice of the owner boomed through the tent.

"What the hell do ya think you're doing?!" Booth turned to him, slipping out a knife from behind his belt. "Look, buddy, you either back off, or I'll make you.  
She's coming home with me."

The owner snorted. "That plan has about a snowballs chance in hell. Get off of my property."

Booths jaw clenched. "Make me." At that, the owner advanced and attacked. Booth managed to fend off the attack and pushed him to the floor.

"You do that again, and you're going to get much better acquainted with this knife."

The owner, who had hit his head on the floor quite hard, struggled to get up, only to crumble back down in a lifeless heap.

Booth quickly put the knife back behind his belt and approached him. His heart was still beating. That was good. At least he hadn't killed him.

Then he turned to her and quickly helped her into the black dress.

She had little to none awareness of her surroundings. The only thing she noticed was how he helped her into the dress, the fabric sticking to her wet figure and how he carried her outside.

Her breath was coming in torturously slow pants and she felt every one of them burn down her throat.

Booth held her close to his chest as he picked her up and ran outside of the tent, as fast as his legs could carry him.

He ran towards the ocean, hoping fervently that every breath he could hear her take wouldn't be her last.  
He ran into the water until he was in up to his chest and submerged her into the cool, salty water of the ocean.

The painful expression was exchanged for relief as he let her go into the water. Slowly she swam until she was underwater and took a deep breath, filling her lungs but keeping an eye on him.

She swam out of his arms. Even though he didn't want to let her go, he couldn't keep her trapped in his arms either. Anxiously, he waited for her to re-emerge from the water.

After a few moments she swam up to the surface again, lifting her head out of the water but making sure she could still breathe. As her gaze drifted back to the circus, she looked at it absentmindly.

"I'm not a monster." She whispered brokenly.  
Booth crouched, so they were eye to eye, "Shh, Temperance, of course not. You're a mermaid, a creature of the ocean. Don't believe whatever those people said to you or about you."

"Creature…monster that's all the same. I kill people," Cautious she swam backwards, to ensure his safety. "But I guess you already knew that."

Booth nodded and felt his anxiety increase as she floated further away from him.

"Yeah, I knew what your - your species does the moment I saw you in the tank. But that - I'm not scared of you. We've been in the water for several moments and you haven't done anything to me. I - I don't think you will either."

Her eyes became glassy as she spoke to him.

"You think." She emphasized. "You have no idea what I'm capable of, nor do I think you'd like to find out. It's not safe, I don't belong there." Brennan tilted her head back up towards the land.

"Have you ever killed before?"

"Yes," Was her pained reply.

"Obviously, you regret it, don't you?" he asked gently.

Carefully she lifted her head to look at him.

"It's an instinct. I can't suppress it. I'll always have it in me."  
"But you can suppress it, you're suppressing it right now, aren't you?"  
"I'm trying to."

"No, you're succeeding. There is a difference. Trying implies failing and I'm still alive... so..." he smiled at her hopefully.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you're still alive," he whispered in a serious tone. When she didn't respond, he moved a little closer to her,  
"You know, I've heard a lot of bad things about mermaids, but you know what stuck with me the most?"

"That we turn into foam if we suffer from a broken heart?" She asked, shaking her head. "No, your guess is as good as mine."

Booth shook his head, "No, I've never heard that one before. The one that stuck with me the most is that a mermaid's kiss can save a drowning man.

The fact that I'm still alive is proof that you're different. You could've killed me, but you saved me instead. No matter what they say about mermaids, I know you don't have a cold heart. I can see it in your eyes."

Slightly, she smiled at him. The first spark of happiness in days.

"As absurd as it seems, that one is true. But it doesn't happen often."

"You saved me," he responded. "I never could've survived the raging sea by myself. See? There is no reason to be afraid of what you might do in a life or death situation, cause you already know."

Booth started to swim towards open water. "I trust you. You're not going to kill me or even watch me drown. I've shown you my world." He stopped and turned to her, "Show me yours."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I couldn't leave you hanging there so I decided to update this small chapter sooner as planned.**

As Booth waited for her answer, a big wave crashed over him and instead of fighting it, he went under, trusting the woman he'd only loved for a few days, but felt as if he'd known her his entire life.  
Struggling for air, fighting the current as he desperately tried to find his way back to the surface, he suddenly grabbed onto something. Or someone.

He clung to his savior and when he felt soft lips brushing over his, her sweet breath filling his lungs, he crushed her to him, stealing her oxygen.

He was expecting her to drag him back to the surface, so when she pulled him down further, he struggled for a moment, but gave in rather quickly.  
She wouldn't hurt him. She wouldn't. He trusted her.

As his struggles died down she slowly pulled him deeper underwater, wanting to show him the sea-life.

She released him and he panicked for a moment.

When he realized he was still breathing - which should've been impossible, considering they were submerged into the water - he calmed down again.  
He followed her hesitantly, but more determinedly when she pointed out the small, curious fish swirling around them.

Swimming further she noticed a few seahorses and motioned him to come further along.  
As soon as he did she was startled by a school of discus fish that raced past them, quickly followed by a red lionfish.

Noticing her fish-like variant, her otherwise floaty fins on her hips shot up, revealing the poisonous spikes and making sure she was marking her territory.

Booth was startled when the small, colorful fish raced past them.  
He squinted as a slightly bigger fish followed and he took in the similarities between the fish and his Brennan.

His heart skipped a beat as - her fins, he supposed - unfurled and he was caught by her true, natural beauty, witnessing it for the first time.

Soon the fish swam off leaving them in the warm ocean water she turned back to him, her eyes widening slightly as a huge manta ray appeared behind him.

Booth, still entranced by her beauty slowly approached her, taking in her beauty.

When their surroundings darkened slowly but surely, Booth turned back and found himself frozen in place as a huge monster approached them at a steady speed.  
Swimming up to the manta ray she slowly petted it, hoping to show him the fish wasn't dangerous like he thought.  
When she touched the giant thing, he smiled. Maybe it wasn't a monster, maybe it was just some kind of fish.

When another creature approached them, he reached out to touch it. To his surprise, the fish blew up like a balloon and he recoiled quickly.

He turned around and joined Brenn again as the giant fishlike creature swam away.

He held her close as she showed him around.

Somehow, her kiss had given him breath that filled his lungs and continued to fill it no matter how much he exhaled underneath the water.

She showed him spectacular riffs, beautiful under water life and the most magnificent creatures.

He felt her body relax against his own and held her a little closer, feeling the love flow from him to her.

Taking a hold on his hand she pulled him along, towards what had been her most favorite place of the entire ocean.

Careful to avoid any sharp edges she lead him into an underwater cave where beams of light shone down on the surface but more importantly, it had a clear view of the shore and land.  
She showed him the cave and they emerged from the ocean, so that just their heads were sticking out of the water.

He could see by the smile on her face that she loved this place. And when he took a look around he smiled too.  
"The best of both worlds," he smiled as he turned to her. "Thank you for showing me this. I wish I could stay here with you," he told her truthfully.

"I'm afraid that's not a possibility." She replied, the joy disappearing from her face and seriousness took place.

"Why not? You gave me your breath, I could've stayed under water for a couple of hours more. At the least."

He noticed how serious she was and turned to her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Why not? You can tell me," he encouraged.  
"I'm- I'm dying, and I'm sure that before the sun comes up again, I'll cease to exist."

**A/N2: So sorry for the evil cliffhanger but I promise you'll get more soon! Anyway leave a review, that makes us happy :D**


	5. Chapter 5

Booth instinctively pulled her closer to him.

"What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?" Booth referred to the owner of the freak show. Shaking her head she replied.  
"It's nothing he did." Hesitating for a second she decided that it would be better if she just told the truth.

"You did. Heartbreak is the only thing that can kill a mermaid and when you turned your back on me…I thought you were disgusted. Like everyone else."

"No," Booth shook his head again and pressed her body close to his, "no, no, no... I wasn't disgusted. Never. I was surprised and overwhelmed and about to burst into tears with relief. If I could've gotten you out at that moment, I would have, but I couldn't. There were too many people."

He cupped her cheeks in his hands desperately, "You can't die. I don't think I can survive your death twice... especially not knowing I was the cause of it."

"There's nothing you can do about it really. But please don't blame yourself. You showed me so many great things." She smiled sadly at him.

"How can I not blame myself?" he whispered desperately, "I'm responsible for your death... Please tell me there is something I can do. How do you save a mermaid from a broken heart?"  
"We must die too. There's nothing you can do about that. Just know I had a wonderful time with you, showing me new things I'd never thought I'd be able to see."

"But not before your time. Not because I didn't make the situation clear. Not because of a misunderstanding," Booth whispered bitterly.

"There's really nothing I can do? Nobody I can talk to? No spell that will keep me here with you or you with me on land?" he whispered brokenly as a first tear rolled down his cheek.

Quietly she wiped away his tears. Of course she knew something. The only problem was that she couldn't tell him.

Otherwise it wouldn't be honest and she knew only honest wishes came true. So instead she shook her head.

"There is no spell that can do that. Even my spell was temporarily."

"God, this isn't fair," Booth whispered as he hugged her, holding her body against him, her tail brushing against his legs.

"I wish you were human, at least then I could heal the heart that I broke."

As soon as she heard the words leave his mouth, she inhaled sharply, his words more powerful than anything she'd ever heard or felt.

Taking him under with her on the last bit of air left in her lungs and swimming back to the shore, her tail dissolving as she swam and legs replacing it.

He had saved her.

Booth suspected that her nearing death was finally getting the better of her and he sank down with her as she kissed him and pulled them back underwater.

Together they swam back to shore. Something was wrong though. She was a lot slower than she'd been before.

Booth hugged her closely to him and swam the last bit for both of them.

He pulled her torso onto the beach and was about to pour water over her gills in order to help her breath, when he saw that they were gone.

Confused, he caressed her flawless neck.

"What? What's going on? What's happening?"

"You did the only thing that could save me." She simply explained, tears of joy forming in her eyes.

"I thought there was no way. What was it? What saved you?" he asked her as he encased her with his arms, leaning over her.

"Your wish. Never before has someone done that. No-one ever considered wishing a mermaid human out of fear for their lives."

"Does that mean it worked? Are you - Are you human?" he asked her hopefully.

"What do you think?" She asked smiling, relief coursing through her body.

He smiled happily at her as he leaned down and chastely kissed her neck, on the exact place her gills had been just moments before.

"I believe you are as much human as I am."

"From head to toe." She giggled happily.

He looked down and smiled even brighter when he noticed her tail was gone and had been replaced by two - very human - legs. "Temperance?"

"Yes?"

Booth tenderly caressed her cheek and with his heart pounding in his chest, he whispered softly, "I love you."

"I love you too. More than you'll ever know." She replied, leaning up to capture his lips in a kiss.

He pulled her up into a sitting position and wrapped his arms securely around her waist as he relished their first kiss. A kiss of love, trust and commitment.

**A/N: Only one chapter left to go, a short epilogue :)**


End file.
